Rising Stars

John Kernaghan at Liquorice was quick to see the potential of Lisa Chisholm, who was a regular customer before joining the business 18 months ago.

“Lisa came on board mainly on the deli side of the business,” John explains. “But I soon latched on to the fact that her main passion is on the wine side. So last year we arranged for her and two other members of the team to do WSET Level 2, in which she achieved a distinction.

“She’s got a very astute palate. We can go our separate ways at a tasting then meet up and I know she’ll go, ‘oh my goodness, you should try this’. We’ve progressed to the point now where I involve her in ideas and decisions because she is quite creative and is always suggesting different angles and ways of approaching things like events.

“We recently ran a blues evening in store, with food, wine and whisky all linked in, and that was fundamentally her idea that she saw through to fruition. She’s got a really nice manner as well as showing initiative and confidence.”

Even though Lisa had been regularly attending wine courses run by the LEA, she says her career change from the finance industry was more happy coincidence than long-term strategy.

“I enjoyed wine just from a purely social perspective,” she says, “and then I went along to a course with my parents. It was very, very basic, literally an introduction to wine, but then it progressed to intermediate and then advanced. There was no accreditation; I wasn’t doing it with a new career in mind, it was just pure enjoyment. It was run by a gentleman called Colin Legg; he really was a wonderful and inspirational tutor.

“It wasn’t until having my children and looking for something to do that this opportunity came along. As a customer of Liquorice with my friends, I just got chatting to John who said they were looking for someone to help out with the cheese room.

“As time has gone on, I’ve got involved in both sides of the business. It’s been a great opportunity and learning curve for me. The WSET course gave me that little bit of extra confidence to be able to talk to the customers. It was strange going back to school after all these years

Lisa Chisholm Liquorice, Shenfield, Essex

and learning again, and revising, but I really enjoyed the process.”

Lisa continues to flex her people skills as she runs instore tasting events and engages with customers on a daily basis in order to make sure their shopping experience is tip-top.

She says: “When a customer comes into the shop and they’re looking for a gift or they want something special … trying to match the customer with the right bottle of wine for them … I love that process. Especially when they come back and say, ‘oh, I loved it, thank you’, it’s a real sense of achievement and I enjoy exceeding the customers’ expectations.

“There’s so much to learn and I’d really like to continue my educational journey and do WSET Level 3 in September. It’s about getting that balance, though – you don’t want to bombard people with information about soil types and things if all they really want is a nice bottle of red to go with their lamb. You have to know your audience.”

If you’d like to nominate a Rising Star, email claire@winemerchantmag.com

Zahel An Amphora Weiner Gemischter Satz 2019

Zahel specialises in Vienna’s traditional Gemischter Satz field blend, ageing a small proportion of each vintage –in this case mainly Grüner Veltliner and Riesling – in a single amphora. It’s mesmerisingly exotic, with aromas that suggest a north African soukh rather than the home of the Habsburgs. Crazily good wine.

RRP: £29.95 ABV: 13.5%

Third Floor Wines (0161 908 1391) thirdfloorwines.com

Miguel Torres Andica Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2021

Torres is producing a host of Chilean wines that arrive on shelves at very attractive prices. It’s safe to assume that cash-strapped consumers will continue to demand their Sauvignon hit, and here they’ll find a solution that’s authentically zippy and herbal, but with an assured mellow character, too, that broadens the appeal.

RRP: £11.50 ABV: 13%

Fells (01442 866592) fells.co.uk

Garage Wine Co Revival Old Vine País 2021

Derek Mossman Knapp and Pilar Miranda’s sure touch with Chile’s neglected vineyards has earned them a following that is now way beyond what might be described as cult. Here they’ve crafted a grippy, inky yet rather gentle cherry-infused wine, reminiscent of Beaujolais but very much its own wild thing.

RRP: £17.95 ABV: 13%

Jascots (020 8965 2000) jascots.co.uk

Vidal-Fleury Vacqueyras 2020

It doesn’t take a brilliant vintage for Vidal-Fleury to produce superb wines, but in 2020 nature provided all the ingredients for something extra special. The trick, as always, is to pack in layer upon layer of violet, garrigue and dark berry flavours, plus some savoury spice, and somehow make it all feel effortlessly fresh and unforced.

RRP: £27 ABV: 14.5%

Louis Latour Agencies (020 7409 7276) louislatour.co.uk

Getariako Txakoli Rezabal 2021

If there’s a person alive who doesn’t smile after their first sip of txakoli – especially one as “fruity, happy and fresh” as this one, in the words of its creators – they should be bundled into a van and taken to a facility so that they can be studied by government scientists. Extra marks for the moreish saline note.

RRP: £13.99 ABV: 11%

Winetraders (01993 882440) winetradersuk.co.uk

Gómez Cruzado Montes Obarenes Rioja Blanco 2017

Old bush-vine Viura grown on the slopes of the Montes Obarenes, near Haro, is the star of the show, supported by a 25% Tempranillo Blanco component. Most of the fermentation and ageing is done in new French oak, but some of the wine matures in concrete egg. A creamy, complex and confident wine.

RRP: £44.99 ABV: 13%

Boutinot (0161 908 1300) boutinot.com

Nik Weis Wiltinger Alte Reben Riesling 2021

An arbitrary choice, as every Riesling on show from this renowned third-generation VDP producer at the recent Top Selection tasting was exquisite. Wildfermented old-vine fruit from the banks of the Mosel and Saar is encouraged to express its pure, ripe character, breezy herbiness and natural minerality.

RRP: £32 ABV: 11%

Top Selection (0845 410 3255) topselection.co.uk

Serodes & Kovac Cazot Rouge 2019

Exciting stuff is happening at Boris Covac’s Vallée des Aigles project in the Roussillon hills, where he has a wealth of old vines at his disposal. Here the blend is Grenache, Syrah and Carignan, fermented and aged in barrel, which he melds expertly to create a perfumed, silky wine, with notes of raspberries and herbs.

RRP: £16.50 ABV: 14.5%

Ucopia World Wines (01435 517080) ucopiawines.co.uk